Director of clerking at 36 Stone to step down

Director of clerking at 36 Stone to step down

Paul Martenstyn of barristers' chambers set to leave following the completion of a project

Paul Martenstyn, a well-known figure in London's clerking community, is set to leave as director of clerking at barristers' chambers 36 Stone, a leading set of commercial barristers, based in London and Singapore. It follows the set's completion of a project with his legal management consultancy Prosperant.

At the time of Martenstyn joining 36 Group, the firm's co-head Charles Debattista had said the membership had given Martenstyn the opportunity to provide fresh direction to the set through a consultancy arrangement. It is an "innovative and forward-looking method of delivering critical practice management and business strategy services."

Debattista, now stated, "Martensytn brought to the project the energy, enthusiasm and creativity for which he is known in the clerking world. We are sad to see him leave."

Vasanti Selvaratnam QC, co-head of both 36 Group and 36 Stone, called Martenstyn's influence on the brand "tremendous," adding "we look forward to working with him on new projects in the future."

The team also oversaw the acquisition of "some major new junior talent" that Martenstyn said, "bode well for the future." He added, "To have achieved it all during the pandemic was a challenge. But we came together as a team to make a real difference."

The set has taken on six new juniors over the last 18-months, including dual Finnish and English qualified lawyer Heidi Yildiz, who joined from Dittmar & Indrenius, former Credit Suisse in-house lawyer Khadija Leuenberger, Essex Court's Andrew Ng and former Gibson Dunn & Crutcher associate Moeiz Farhan.

Martenstyn had joined 36 Stone after a stint as a managing director of litigation funder Vannin Capital at a critical time in the set's development. The specialist trade, arbitration and maritime chambers had seen successive exits at barrister and clerk level to rival sets including 7 King's Bench Walk, Twenty Essex, and Quadrant Chambers in a span of few years.

Former senior clerk Luke Irons had also left the set for Maitland Chambers in 2019 having managed its integration into 36 Group; one of the larger full-service sets in London.

One of the first barristers' clerks to obtain professional marketing qualifications, Martenstyn oversaw a team that put in place a new practice management system, digital marketing campaign and strategy.

At the time of joining 36 Stone, he was still the chief commercial officer of the legal services marketing firm Overture. His contract was transferred by mutual agreement to Prosperant, of which he is co-founder and partner.